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Leominster school 2017 deficit erased

By Amanda Burke, aburke@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
07/26/2017 10:45:37 AM EDT

LEOMINSTER -- The school district's 2017 deficit, once projected to notch upwards of $1.5 million, is down to zero, thanks to a city appropriation approved Monday night and additional dollars identified in two revolving funds.

School Business Administrator Glenn Fratto told the School Committee's finance subcommittee Monday night that, according to a draft budget he prepared, the district carried a balance of over $890,000 for fiscal 2017.

"We anticipated a much larger deficit," At-large School Committee member Suzanne Koehler said at the start of the meeting.

But around the same time and just a few miles away, the City Council voted unanimously to give the district $895,000 in emergency preamble funding from the mayor.

That money covered the deficit left behind after special-education circuit breaker funding and money from school choice was used to cover expenses from employee health insurance, salaries, and other items, said Finance Committee Chairwoman Kristin Howlett.

At the finance subcommittee meeting, Howlett asked Fratto for a breakdown illustrating exactly how one-time money is being used to cover funding gaps.

"My concern is, we got money at the end of '17, we're getting a lot of one-time money in '18," said Howlett. "I want to make sure we get a handle on what this money means and how it balances out for '19.

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In a letter sent to the Leominster City Council Monday night, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said he met with representatives from the Department of Revenue last Thursday to discuss "their range of services and which one might be of benefit to Leominster."

The City Council passed a resolution early this month asking Mazzarella to request the state Revenue Department reviews the city's finances.

Instead of agreeing to the external audit in the Thursday letter, the mayor said he would have an internal audit of the School Department conducted that would be "more comprehensive" than audits in previous years.

The mayor also said he will institute financial best practices training for members of the Leominster School Department and School Committee. Meanwhile, the district is in the process of switching to a new digital accounting system.

After the audit is done and accounting system is fully implemented, the mayor will meet will again meet with the state revenue officials to "review the list of technical services DOR offers and match where they might be able to assist the city," Mazzarella wrote.

On Monday, the City Council voted unanimously to transfer $2.2 million to the schools.

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